Kevin McClatchy excited for fans, team to experience winning in Pittsburgh

When Kevin McClatchy stepped down as CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007, chairman Bob Nutting said the team would not still be playing in Pittsburgh if it wasn't for his leadership. Fast forward six years, and the Pirates aren't only playing, they're competing for a pennant, and McClatchy couldn't be happier.

"I take my hat off to the Pirate fans because they stuck with us. If anybody wants to talk about the best fans in baseball, they can just look at the Pittsburgh Pirate fans," the former Pirates owner told Channel 4 Action News' Sally Wiggin.

McClatchy, 50, was at his home in Ligonier, Westmoreland County, watching from his couch Tuesday night when the Pirates defeated the Milwaukee Brewers for their 81st win of the season, assuring them a non-losing record for the first time since 1992.

"It's been an albatross around the organization's neck before I got there, after I left, while I was there, obviously," McClatchy said of the franchise's record 20 consecutive losing seasons. "It was just one of those things that the organization couldn't get past and move on."

But McClatchy, wearing a white golf shirt with the logo of the 2006 All-Star Game that was held in Pittsburgh, said the victory was symbolic of much more than putting an end to the losing.

"To get to that win, it's going to put that behind us. I was watching the game, thinking, 'Yes, we're going to get to this magical number that everybody's talked about for years.' Truth is, the big number is we're two games in front of St. Louis in the pennant race, so it was a big win for a lot of reasons," he said.

McClatchy said he also thought of the longtime fans and employees of the organization who suffered through the tough times. He admits to reflecting on some of the good and the bad during his tenure with team from 1996 until 2007, which included the construction of PNC Park but the inability to produce a winning team.

"There were positive things that I look back on. I think we saved the team for Pittsburgh, building what I consider the best ballpark in America, and bringing Willie Stargell back to the organization. I think we really did reconnect a lot with fans. We started to have some good attendance, but we obviously didn't do the most important thing, which was to win," said McClatchy.

He cited "bad personnel choices," including costly misses in the draft, for those failures, but he wanted to give credit to the current management team of Nutting, president Frank Coonelly, general manager Neil Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle for righting the Pirates' ship.

"They've turned the corner. I'm happy we drafted (All-Star outfielder Andrew) McCutchen and (second baseman Neil) Walker. We've got a few guys still on the team, but they put it together and they deserve all the credit, and I hope everybody in the city of Pittsburgh can enjoy this moment today and also for the next 24 games," said McClatchy.

Nowadays, McClatchy is enjoying the ride just like any other fan. The ballpark he once fought to get built to keep the team in Pittsburgh is now packed with fans eager to support their team. When asked why the Sacramento, Calif., native thought it was so important to keep the team in Pittsburgh after arriving in 1996, he said it was evident after listening to memories from fans and former players.

"The Pittsburgh Pirates were part of the fabric of Pittsburgh. It meant a lot. I always thought this was a good baseball town, and there were a lot of people who were skeptical, especially when we were trying to get PNC Park built, and they said, 'If you build PNC Park, it's just going to be like Three Rivers (Stadium), alone on the North Shore and nothing's going to happen.'"

That wasn't the case, and the North Shore is now one of the city's brightest spots, home to PNC Park, Heinz Field, Stage AE, businesses, restaurants and, now, proud Pirates fans.

"Most of all, you see the fans coming out in droves to the ballpark. Pittsburgh's a great baseball town. We put our fans through more negative things. Even when they were mad, and they had the right to be mad, they were passionate, and you love that passion because that passion you're now seeing in a positive sense, and they never quit on their Pirates," said McClatchy.

It's that passion, McClatchy said, that has kept fans by the team's side instead of walking away, something he's seen his

"I've been to a bunch of Saturday night games. I stay at the Fairmont, walk across the (Clemente) Bridge, and seeing the ballpark and the city with just this electric atmosphere, and all the sacrifice we did to build the ballpark, to get it to that point, when I walk across that bridge, it gives me goose bumps, and just to see the fans happy and the atmosphere, that's why we went through all that and it's pretty exciting, said McClatchy.

He now jokes about being able to walk across the bridge without the fear of angry fans throwing him over it.

"I've had nothing but nice responses. Maybe it's time has gone by, and I'm sure there's some still out there that are mad at me and I wish there was something I could do to change it, but I know I can't. The thing we have in common (is) we're all big fans of the Pirates," he said.

McClatchy said he tries not to focus too heavily on the past. Instead he chooses to look toward the future, something he believes will continue to be bright for the Pirates and their fans.

"I think the key is, now, for the fans, the organization, for myself, to enjoy the good times that are going to be ahead because I made myself miserable over the bad times," he said. "I can't go back and change it. I wish I could. I still have regrets. I still think about it. It's something I'll live with the rest of my life, but I want to go enjoy the good times. I want to go enjoy the Pirates winning and just be like every other fan out there. If I run into a fan and we can have a beer and talk about the Pirates team right now, that would be a lot of fun."